High ranking black beltsputting on a white belt again

High ranking black beltsputting on a white belt again

John Geyston suggested I might write a piece on high ranking black belts, like your"s truly, putting on a white belt again and studying a no (expletive deleted) art like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He said some "high profile business consultant" (read: idiot) in the martial arts "industry" told him he was committing business suicide by wearing his white or blue belt in front of his students, instead of his "masters belt."
Well, frankly and with all due respect, what a stupid-assed, lame brain, idiotic, moronic, and down-right foolish thing to say --and thank you John for being one of the guys who isn"t so wrapped up in his own ego that he can"t go out there and enjoy one of the most beautiful martial arts in the world --practiced by some of the best people I"ve ever had the pleasure to get tortured by.
The martial arts industry, all too often, has its head planted either firmly in the sand --or right up its own behind.
It"s committing business suicide to ignore that your martial art is, sadly, but honestly, ineffective and based on theory and a belief in magic. It is business suicide to walk around with a size 40 waist and profess to teach self-defense or be a "master." It"s business suicide to let your ego become so inflated that you can"t see what a gift BJJ is to the martial arts --and to the world. FINALLY, after all these years, we have an art that separates a lot of fact from a lot of fiction.
Imagine being a mathematician and refusing to use modern technology out of fear of the unknown? Imagine being an astronomer and ignoring modern technology? Imagine being a doctor and refusing to accept progress, change, and new ideas / methods. Insanity.
You want a good business with a great product? Then you"d do very well to add BJJ and other grappling arts to your knowledge base --and you"d be far better off wearing your white belt again --and going thru what it takes to learn this wonderful, complex, and health-enhancing art form.